How "feminine" do you dress for work? I've been wearing pant suits and low heels for most of my career. I want to look professional and be taken seriously. But I can't help but notice that the younger women joining my firm aren't afraid to show their femininity. They wear skirts, heels that I would kill myself if I tried to walk in them, and they put a lot more time and effort into their hair and makeup than I do. I've just never been that confident in myself to dress like this, I'm jealous.

It sounds like you don’t dress feminine because you aren’t confident enough and can’t wear heels and not because you want to be “taken seriously”. I think it’s wild that women think you have to look masculine to be taken seriously. In fact, I’d argue it’s the opposite tbh.

I think as long as it’s appropriate for work, you can wear it. Pants suits are but so are skirts, dresses etc. Wear whatever you feel most comfortable presenting yourself in!

It’s about your own confidence and what you’re projecting. Maybe start slowly adding more feminine elements and ease into it. I mostly wear what I feel best in and is super mood dependent

I always have - 50+ year old here. I remember one time prob 20+ years ago when I was going to an audit committee mtg that was all older men on the AC, plus all male mgmt team in mtg, plus I was attending with a male partner (I was manager at the time). I wore a suit that was red skirt and red jacket lol. I was trying to subtly (well, maybe not so subtly) point out that there were literally zero other women around.

I've moved on from the monochromatic red suit 😝 but I still prefer wearing dresses and do so at least once a week. Professional dresses, and I don't try to be too young with style/length, but it's just easier to me.

Agree with the advice to try it out, see how you feel!

I’m not feminine and when dressing more than business casual, I’m usually in nice pants, sweater and loafers. You don’t have to be feminine to dress professional. I think the key is wearing what you feel confident in and the most important is to look put together and like you take pride in yourself.

I’m Gen Z and I mostly wear dresses / skirts +blouse and I keep a pair of heels at my desk that i pretty much only wear when i walk around. Other wise i wear my sandals lol.

i would say it’s less of a confidence thing and more of a comfort thing. I wear dresses a lot outside of the office so I wasn’t about to wear pants!

I recommend finding a good make up routine it helps so much. My go to is tinted moisturizer with blush and eyeliner. It’s amazing how little I need but I feel so put together. Then I mostly wear dresses with cute flats since I like to be comfy. Even doing little things like painting my nails or adding gold jewelry can dress up an outfit.

I think you should just dress in what makes you feel most comfortable as long as it is the right side of professional. When I was a lot younger, I wore the high heels and more feminine clothes, and worried a lot about what people thought of how I looked. Now not so much. Post Covid, and mostly on Teams calls and very rarely out at client sites, I really am not that bothered. I am most interested in whether people can do their jobs properly and how people act, rather than what they wear.

In my office I feel like the younger staff are mostly in pants/jeans, it’s us older ladies more often in dresses/skirts. To each their own! I find dresses more comfy so that’s what I wear

I dress very feminine. I wear skirts and dresses, nearly everyday. I always wear heels. I do my makeup and hair daily too, but it’s because I love fashion. It feels like an opportunity to express myself (within reason). Maybe you can try it out and see if you enjoy it! :)

Hmm I’ve never been jealous bc I feel like they’re prob way more uncomfortable than I am. You can start small and try something new here and there without going bam all in feminine queen style. Shake it up with a dress one day or cuter shoes, see how you feel.

Wear whatever business-appropriate outfits that you feel confident in. Give yourself freedom to gently try a new style. I’ve been in public accounting for 15 years. Even in my earlier years, I leaned towards the more feminine style because I felt more confident in (business appropriate) dresses and skirts. I moved up the corporate ladder just fine. If you’re not comfortable and confident in feminine style but want to change things up, you can always play with jewelry and layering pieces. Same with your hair and make up. Find a signature look that works for you…doesn’t matter if you only spend 5-10 mins to achieve that look.

I’m in my 30s and I’ve been wearing dresses all my career simply because I like wearing dresses and wear quite a few office items outside of work. I think it’s important to wear what you feel comfortable and confident in and it could be anything work appropriate. I do have office pants for the winter but I’m quite short and buying pants is more complicated from me compared to dresses and skirts